*Sniff* Last Day of Co-Op Preschool

Two years ago, Molly started off down the road to her first day of co-op preschool. She just a wee little thing but full of spunk. I remember that she could barely hold the chalkboard sign I had made for photos. It took us so long to get those first photos. We had to stop many times to fix the sign, wave to the garbage men and dance.

She LOVED preschool from the start. She burst right in and held her own. She was the only kid who never ever came into parent education because that would have meant taking time away from playing and her little friends. We live down the road from the church where preschool is held so we always walked to school. Molly learned how to really march her little feet down the road. Our little walk was a time to talk about where we were going, what exciting things might happen in school and then our walk home was spent talking about our time at preschool.

She grew so much over that first year and added a baby sister to her life. Preschool helped so much with that transition. Preschool is also where I figured out that Molly needed some speech therapy which only helped her sing even louder during circle time. Circle time has always been one of Molly's favorite parts of preschool.

This year, preschool grew to two days a week - one day that I stayed for and the other one where I left. I was worried about Molly being upset about me leaving her at school. There was nothing to worry about. In fact, Molly often wanted me to leave on my work days but I couldn't.

Preschool was a nice return to our routine after last year's summer of sadness and change. Tuesday mornings were a break for me as Maggie often napped and Molly was off learning and growing. Thursdays were good for all of us. Maggie went to daycare and made some fantastic friends while Molly and I went to preschool.

Next year I'll be starting this whole process again with Maggie but today, today I teared up when it was time to leave the classroom. I almost sobbed into the teacher's shoulder even though I'll be there again in a few months, just with a different child. Molly will head off to a drop-off preschool where she will really blossom. Until then we're going to spend the next few months splashing in pools, hiking, finding adventure and making a summer of fun!